Cleaning pads



April 16, 1963 H. L.. swEl-:NEY ETAI.

CLEANING PADS Filed 001. 12, 1961 United States Patent O 3,085,372 CLEANING PADS Harold L. Sweeney, 8 Jackson Court, Natick, Mass., and lohn Faneros, 415 Textile Ave., Draeut, Mass. Filed Oct. 12, 1961, Ser. No. 144,682 3 Claims. (Cl. 51-18S) This invention relates to cleaning pads and more particularly to a novel and improved cleaning pad adapted to be used in the grill cleaner shown in our Patent No. 2,9905 64. The grills are usually hot when cleaned since otherwise valuable cooking -time would be lost, and are commonly incrusted with hard-baked particles that must be removed and the grill thoroughly cleaned and scoured to present a polished surface. These requirements are so drastic that the pads heretofore employed rapidly become worn and inefcient and must be very frequently replaced. A primary object of our present invention resides in the production of an improved cleaning pad of this nature that not only performs these operations more thoroughly and efficiently but also stands up under rough treatment for relatively long periods of time, thus providing greater eiciency at substantially less cost. A further embodiment of our improved pad includes an abrading area and a scouring and polishing area which areas can optionally be brought into use as required and this together with other improved features herein specifically described provides resulting increased efficiency and economy.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. l is a perspective view of an embodiment of our improved cleaning pad,

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate a preferred method of making the pad, and

FIG. 5 illustrates use of the pad in our patented grill cleaner.

In the accompanying drawing, showing a preferred embodiment of the invention, 1t) indicates a sponge-like and porous fibrous sheet of silicon carbide 0r equivalent mineral substance, including carbonaceous polishing material impregnated thereinto. As illustrated in FIG. 3, we mount in spaced relation and transversely on this sheet a plurality of filler pads 12 which are preferably of the same or like material. A cover sheet 14, like the sheet lit, is then placed on the filler pads as shown in FIG. 4. The cleaning pad is then completed by constricting and bonding the pad along the spaced lines 16 disposed at and between the margins of the ller pads i12. Thus constricting and bonding the cleaning pad forms each of its two opposite faces into convex cleaning areas 18 separated by open V-shaped channels 2i); The bonding can be effected by stitching along the lines 16 or in other convenient manner. Preferably we employ a water and heat resisting emulsion for effecting the bonding function. The emulsion is impregnated into and through the restricted pad along the lines l16 and baked in this position until set and cured. We have found that acrylic and acetate emulsions are very satisfactory for performing this bonding function. The filler pads have substantial body thickness `and are spaced apart, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, to provide gaps between adjacent margins and thus cornpletely and tightly fill the spaces occupied thereby between the sheets 1t) and 14 when the pad is constricted along the lines l16, thereby forming the convex cleaning areas 18 and providing firm backing support therefor, all -as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The application of considerable pressure is required in the grill cleaning operation and the filler pads provide ICC backing support opposing this pressure which, together with the substantial thickness of the impregnated sheets l0` and 114, render the cleaning surfaces 18 quite sufficient to perform the required scouring and polishing function. The filler pads furthermore fortify and provide reserve body material for the cleaning `areas which aids substantially in maintaining their convex character and efficient operation. As a further and important feature of the invention, the filler pads are preferably also impregnated with carbonaceous polishing material whereby they not only provide backing support for the cleaning areas 18 but also blend into and supplement such areas as they wear down thereinto, thus substantially increasing the efciency and useful life of the pad.

The removal of hard-baked particles from some grills presents greater resistance that might unduly wear and damage the cleaning areas 18, and to perform this rougher function we provide an area Z2 of stronger abrading material on each face of the pad. This area 22 is placed at one end of the pad (FIG. 1) to permit scouring con- 4tact thereof with the grill as shown in FIG. 5. A preferred embodiment of this area comprises a woven screen 24 adhesively coated Iwith hard abrading particles and covering one of the areas 18. The screen is bonded to the pad at opposite margins along the lines 16.

The free ends 26 of the cleaning pad are adapted to receive clamps for holding the pad, as the pivoted clamps 28 of our patented grill cleaner illustrated in FIG. 5. In this View the cleaner and pad are Adisposed in cleaning position on a grill 30. The rapid and etlicient cleaning that does not unduly delay the continuous use of the grill is of especial importance in commercially operated grills, and our improved cleaning pad, with or Without its abrasive area and scouring and polishing areas all on one surface of the pad, is particularly adapted to serve this function. In performing the cleaning operation by the pad illustrated in the drawing the cleaner may rst be held in the raised FIG. 5 position wherein the abrasive area 22 at one end of the pad is in contact with the grill and a few reciprocations across the grill serves to remove all coarse and hard particles. The cleaner is then lowered to contact the scouring and polishing areas 18 with the grill and wherein a few reciprocations serve to remove the finer particles and provide a clean and polished surface.

It will be understood that the grill is usually hot during the cleaning treatment and the corrugated surface of the pad entraps air therebeneath within the channels 20` which aids in cooling the pad. The open channels 2t) also serve to receive and store loosened particles which would otherwise load the areas 1-8 and impede the polishing function. The entire pad is porous and serves as a reservoir for liquid solvent used in the cleaning process. Thorough polishing and scouring of the grill requires the employment of substantial pressure of the pad thereagainst and the ller pads 12 support -an-d maintain the convex shape of the cleaning areas 1S and 22 during this operation and insure smoother, more uniform `and eliicient use and longer wear and maintainance of the pad, and the reversible character of the pad also doubles its useful life.

Having thus disclosed our invention what lwe claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An oblong grill cleaning pad comprising two porous, non-metallic and mineral brous sheets of substantial thickness impregnated with a carbonaceous polishing material :and disposed in face to face relation, a plurality of filler pads of mineral fibrous material and of substantial body thickness disposed in spaced relation between and extending Itransversely across the sheets, and means holding the sheets constricted and bound together along lines extending transversely thereacross in the gaps between relatively adjacent margins of the filler pads and forming occupied thereby between the sheets and providing rm backing support for said convex cleaning areas and reserve body material increasing the efliciency and useful life of the pad.

2. The cleaning pad defined in claim 11 in which the mineral fibrous ller pads are impregnated with a carbonaceous polishing material as in said sheets, whereby the filler pads blend into and supplement said cleaning area portions and increase the efficiency and useful life of the pad.

3. The cleaning pad defined in claim 1 in which the convex cleaning area at one end of each face of the pad embodies abrading material including hard abrading particles adhered thereto.

References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 19,796 Mar Dec. 24, 1935 10 2,493,968 Hepner Jan. l0, 1950 2,740,239 Ball et al Apr. 3, 1956 FOREIGN vPATENTS 1,229,244 France Mar. 21, 1960 

1. AN OBLONG GRILL CLEANING PAD COMPRISING TWO POROUSM, NON-MERTALLIC AND MINERAL FIBROUS SHEETS OF SUBSTANTIAL THICKNESS IMPREGNATED WITH A CARBONACEOUS POLISHING MATERIAL AND DISPOSED IN FACE TO FACE RELATION, A PLURALITY OF FILLER PADS OF MINERAL FIBROUS MATERIAL AND OF SUBSTANTIAL BODY THICKNESS DISPOSED IN SPACED RELATION BETWEEN AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE SHEETS, AND MEANS HOLDING THE SHETS CONSTRICTED AND BOUND TOGETHER ALONG LINES EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THEREACROSS IN THE GAPS BETWEEN RELATIVELY ADJACENT MARGINS OF THE FILLER PADS AND FORMING EACH OUTER FACE OF THE CLEANING PAD INTO A PLURALITY OF CONVEX CLEANING AREAS DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID LINES, SAID FILLER PADS EACH COMPLETELY AND TIGHTLY FILLING THE SPACE OCCUPIED THEREBY BETWEEN THE SHEETS AND PROVIDING FIRM BACKING SUPPORT FOR SAID CONVEX CLEANING AREAS AND RESERVE BODY MATERIAL INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY AND USEFUL LIFE OF THE PAD. 